ADAC Masters Weekend
ADAC GT Masters
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
September 16th-18th, 2011

This weekend the pilots competing in the ADAC GT Masters series travelled to the 2.83 miles (4.555km) long TT Circuit in Assen, Netherlands for the penultimate races of this season. In two weeks time the final races will take place at the Hockenheimring in Baden.

Christopher Haase (23) let his Swedish partner, Andreas Simonsen (21), go ahead in the first free practice session. “We wanted to give Andreas the opportunity to make himself familiar with the track”, says Haase. Due to too many red phases Haase only managed to complete one timed lap in his stint in the Audi R8 LMS (Phoenix Racing Pole Promotion). As a result there was not much space for references. However, in the second free practice session on Friday Haase made best use of the time and reached P4 being the fastest Audi.

Simonsen participated in the first qualifying session but failed to set constant sector times. As a result, he only reached start position for race 1 on Sunday. The 21-year old Swede made his way into the pit lane after the first qualifying session when the power steering gave out in the entry. There was not enough time in the 10-minute break to repair it again and therefore Christopher Haase did not know what to expect in the second qualifying session. “In the first lap the power steering did not work but then it gradually came back again. Only the kerbs caused some problems and it was difficult to trust the car in this situation. You are driving very fast and when the power steering suddenly gives out it can be fatal”, explains Haase. Despite the handicap the pilot from Kulmbach was able to place the Phoenix Audi in P11 in a field of 39 cars for the race on Sunday. And he was happy about that.

The Swede competed in the first half of race 1 on Saturday and handled the start from P22 very well. Problems with the rear axle and the starting rain did not affect Simonsen. The 21-year old gained three places after the start and another eight places during the rest of his stint. “We stayed on slick tyres. It was not wet enough for wet tyres. Andreas did not make any mistakes”, says Haase. Haase took over for the second half of the one-hour race and, like always, made the most of his GT car. “I was able to get the best grip out of the tyres. Of course, the tyres start to deteriorate at some point but I managed to handle it well until the end.” Christopher Haase scored another four points with the eighth place and has a total of 70 points in the driver’s championship now.

Christopher Haase went first in the second race on Sunday with a much better start position then in race 1. However, the decision for the wrong tyres made it impossible for him to score points. Starting in the formation lap the rain got heavier and heavier. Piloting the car in the first stint, Haase unlike his competitors had no chance with his slick tyres and was not able to compete anymore. The change to wet tyres came too late and he fought a losing battle. Haase and Simonsen managed better with wet tyres but were not able to catch up again finishing the second race in P13.

Christopher Haase: “It was a wrong decision which led to a very disappointing result.”

Bernhard Demmer (GT3 Phoenix Racing Pole Promotion project leader): “Our decision not to bring Christopher in right away was wrong. We as a team are responsible for that. Under these conditions Andreas and Christopher did not have any chance. Both did a great job after the change but the gap was too big to make up for anything.”

mmr/motioncompany